You, musician, play me a volekh,
Earn some money, I’ll pay you soon enough,
And you drummer, drum-
Today is their holiday, today is the harvest festival.
The wind beat me and whipped me,
Mosquitos bit me,
The sun burnt me, roasted me-
No walls, and no shadows.
It rained and it dewed,
I tended his herds of sheep,
He has cheese, sheep and wool-
I remain empty and hollow.
No sheep, and no cheese,
And no feed for the mare,
Only a grave in the churchyard-
To survive the winter.
Play louder, Hey musicians,
Play a doina, play a lament!
No sheep and no cattle,
Only a hungry wife and children.
Translated by Benjy Fox-Rosen with thanks to Sonia Gollance and Itzik Gottesman
Benjy Fox-Rosen (Los Angeles, 1984) is a singer, bassist and composer based in Vienna, Austria. Fox-Rosen has been
commissioned to write works for choirs, artistic interventions, and audio-installations; he has produced two CDs of his own music, both of which were recognized by the Forward in the top-five Jewish music album of the year category....more
One of my favourite musical discoveries in a while. These musicians are seriously talented. I can’t help imagining that there would have been a whole significant subculture of Yiddish psych rock like this in a different, kinder universe. For now, this is a window into that world that might have been. And I love every second of it. Audrey
One of the best new albums of Yiddish and Klezmer music on Bandcamp in my opinion. The collaboration of two sensitive artists of different generations who know a lot about Yiddish and American music.
dcarkner
Raw black metal that brooks no compromises, this has all the ferocious guitars, lo-fi aesthetics and infernal howling you crave. Bandcamp New & Notable Jan 30, 2023
Originally sung by Holocaust survivors in Yiddish, Polish and French, this moving album is now available in a gorgeous LP package. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 11, 2022
Led by klezmer phenom David Krakauer, this collaborative LP develops international sounds into an celebration of our common humanity. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 2, 2022